Attachment for internal combustion engines



L. H. MORT ATTWENT FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed July 18. 1927 Lee Mor'l bl, mmmrawm his attorney Patented Dec. 2; 1939 v UNITED ,sT rEs;

H. lVIORT, OF-PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANiA Arrhenius-NT iron IiirTnnNAn-oo BUsT-rmv ENGINES j .YAppHcation'filed July is, 1927. Serial no. gta'sos.

This invention relates to means for introduclng super-heated steam 1ntothe carbu reter of an internal combustion engine. The purpose of the invention is to obtain fuel economy, and reduce the carbon monoxide in the products of combustion, and to eliminate the depositions of carbon on the cylinder Walls and piston heads of the engine. While the general idea of introducing steam into the iiring'mixture of a combustion engine is not new, theproportion of steam admitted is very important, and the amount of steam must,'of course, vary with the speed of the engine in order to maintain the proper proportion in the firingmixture; therefore, the

successful application of the general idea depends on thesimplicity andeifectiveness of the steam generating and controlhng The object of this invention isto provide; r neans-to generate and superheat steam, such I pipe line 9- leads into the boiler 10 which is means being arranged with a water supply andthe'heating source in such 'a manner that the necessary variation in the quantityfof steam 1n]ected into the carbureter 1s automatically regulated. a H V Another object of thevinvention isto provide means to generate and superheat. steam,

wherein gravity maintains the Water in the boiler portion of the device,

IA further object of he invention is to provide in a system for injecting steam into thefcarbureters of internal combustion engines, means for quicklyclearing the steam generating means of all water, this is, for

the reason that in winter the. apparatus might be ruinedif the water was left in the dev' while the machine was idle. V A still furtherobject of the invention is toprovide an apparatus for the purposes aforesaid, in which the piping and surfaces of the apparatus exposed to' the cool air around the engine block are minimized, and

as a result of this, feature, in conjunction with the superheating'of the steam; no condensation of steam occurs and no water is drawn into theearbureten.

In the drawings Figure l is apartial side elevation of a motor car with the:hood cut away to show the attachment of the apparatus of the present invention; Figure 2 is a vert calsectional view througha schematic arrangement of the device; and Figure" 3 is a vertical sectional view through the boiler portion of the apparatus. V

The reference numeral 1 designates the 7 engine block of an automobile 2. Inthis particular car the exhaust manifold 3 is on' the same side of the car as the intake manifold t and the carbureter 5. In some makes of motor cars the exhaust manifold is not on the, same side'of the motor block'as the intake manifold, but this feature is not of p I importance in the application of this invenmounted in the exhaustpipe 11. -'The steam is led to the carbureter 5'by-means of pipe':'

line 6 and is'introduced -into the carbureter" through theair inlet- 7 It is not necessary to limit the injection of the] steam through the a r inlet but =it'h'as been found that better 7 mixing of'the fuel occurs when the air andf steam are admitted together. A small petcock-12 in the pipe 9 may be opened to drain .the boile'r 10 and the. tank"? in case-it isdesirable to removethe Water; @Pet-cock 13 may be opened to allow the: steam condensate to escape, as some ofthe stearn'condenses before the motor temperature rlses' sufficiently to superheat the-steam. Asshow n in Figure 3, the boiler element 10 ofL-the device consists of an outencasing- 14 which m'ay besuitably interposed in the exhaust linelli Thelpipe coil 15 'is positioned-fsubstantially as shown in the casing 14-v,=:and the pipe lines Hand-9 are coupled tothe ends'of theboilercoil-15 at '16 and 17 respectively. t It will be noticed that the inner ;diameter of the boilercoil approximately equal-ftothe inside" diameter of-the exhaust pipe l'l. Thisarrangeme'nt maintains a uniform area in theexhaust line, and 1 serves to prevent an appreciable increase in the resistance to the flow of the exhaust gases from the engine.

In Figure 2 the apparatus is shown in diagrammatic section. The arrangement of the pipe 18 in the exhaust pipe 19, as shown, is found practical for some motors; that is, enough steam may be generated in pipe 18 for small motors, and said pipe 18 in such case corresponds to the coiled pipe 15 in boiler 10. In any arrangement of the apparatus, however, the water supply tank 7 is fixed to the backboard 20, or to any convenient part of the ear, where it is possible to have the water approximately fill half of the boiler piping within the exhaust pipe. The placing ofthe supply tank in this relative position with the boiler pipe eliminates any controlling or water feeding means, since the level of the water inthe supply tank 7 determines the level of the water in the boiler pipe. The supply tank 7 is of relatively small depth and of proportionately great length. The tank is thus constructed so that the water level will vary only a few inches in the boiler pipe, as the tank is filled or emptied during the operation of the ear.

Since no gauging or feeding device is necessary to introduce water into the boiler the structure is greatly simplified and the cost of an installation is materially reduced. The level of the water is maintained approximately at the longitudinal mid-point of the boiler pipe, as explained above, and for this reason the quantity of steam generated at a ,given temperature is practically constant.

Vhen the engine speeds up it heats faster,

and inthrowing out more products of com bustion it creates a higher temperature -1n the exhaust pipe which results 111 the necessary greater generation of steam.

Another novel and very important fea-' ture of the invention'isthelocation of the of. This allows the cold water to come in contact with the cooler exhaust'gases, and the hotter gases, or those nearer the exhaust manifold, contact first the portion of the boiler tube in which the steam is rising and .superheats it, then pass along the boiler tube to transfer heat to the water. The steam in this manner gets the highest degree of superheati-ng possible under prevailing conditions.

Since there is no valve regulation there must be a special boiler for each type of motor car. A four cylinder ear with a given combustion volume would need less steam than a six cylinder car with the same cylinder dimensions. The manner of adapting the apparatus for various types of cars is by changing either the length or the diameter of the boiler pipe, and in this manner the steam generation may be made suitable.

VVha't I claim is:

1. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a carbureter, an exhaust passage, and means for supplying steam to the carbureter, such means comprising a water supply tank, piping arranged within the exhaust passage and in communication with the water supply tank, said piping being of such length and the piping and tank being mutually so arranged that the water rises a relatively short distance in the piping with a relatively great length of the latter above the water level therein and lying within the exhaust passage.

2. In an attachment to reduce the carbon monoxide in theproduets of combustion of an internal combustion engine having boiler piping in the exhaust passage thereof, the combination of a water supply tank connected to said piping and so positioned relatively thereto that water is maintained without the use of valving means at a level equal with the water in said supply tank, at least fifty per cent of the boiler piping extending above said water level to superheat steam generated therein, and connections from said boiler piping to convey steam to the fuel mixing means of the engine.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand.

LEE H. MORT. 

